Question of the Day for Thursday, January 17, 2013

Q. The Bible speaks of John the Baptist baptizing people before he baptized Jesus. Would those early baptisms make those people Christians?

A. Here’s a reply from Father Reginald Martin:

The Old Testament prescribes a number of animal sacrifices to be offered to atone for various sins (see Lv 4:3,14,22,27). Because Mary and Joseph offered the sacrifice of doves when they presented Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2:24) we know the faithful still offered some animal sacrifices at the time of Christ.